Lots to learn coming from a feature phone to Android...

[speedlever]

I'm still trying to understand what the status bar is telling me and reconcile the information presented by the status bar vs the switch position.

If the mobile data switch (in the notification screen) is on, but 3g is not displayed in the status bar, is 3g really on?

Right now I'm in a wifi environment. Wifi is on and the status bar shows the wifi signal, but no 3g symbol.

The mobile data switch is on, but 3g only shows in the status bar when I turn off wifi. Alternatively, if I leave the wifi environment, JD switches off wifi and the 3g symbol appears in the status bar.

Does that indicate that 3g becomes operational when wifi is disabled or out of wifi range? I suppose this is an Android managed thing?

[maestroteague]

I'm still trying to understand what the status bar is telling me and reconcile the information presented by the status bar vs the switch position.

If the mobile data switch (in the notification screen) is on, but 3g is not displayed in the status bar, is 3g really on?

Right now I'm in a wifi environment. Wifi is on and the status bar shows the wifi signal, but no 3g symbol.

The mobile data switch is on, but 3g only shows in the status bar when I turn off wifi. Alternatively, if I leave the wifi environment, JD switches off wifi and the 3g symbol appears in the status bar.

Does that indicate that 3g becomes operational when wifi is disabled or out of wifi range? I suppose this is an Android managed thing?

Yes, most all smartphones will manage this for you. When you leave wifi, then the phone will automatically switch the 3G radio on. If JD is cutting your wifi off for you, then this is likely to try to save battery life keeping your phone from constantly scanning to see if there is a "familiar" wifi that it can connect to. For instance, if you're driving down a street, then the phone would be scanning the houses and businesses you pause near to see if there is a wifi network that you've connected to before. JD is turning this off I guess, to save you some battery. I'm not using JD, so I was wondering if you have to manually turn wifi back on when you get to work? Of maybe JD just allows it to scan every so often rather than constantly. Not sure how JD works as I've only cently come back to android recently after 6 months with an iPhone, and my old android was too old/small to worry with JD.

[speedlever]

That seems consistent with what I've seen. Yes, JD turns wifi on and off per my setup, and I use locations too.

I didn't know if the status bar reflected the true status of the radios or if there was only so much room up there and some stuff could be on but not show. So regardless if the 3g switch is on, when in wifi and 3g is NOT displayed in the status bar, 3g is off (or standby... whatever).

I've found that there seems to be a lot of assumptions made by the programmers of various apps (such as JD) regarding users knowledge of Android and how it controls the radios. Things could be explained a bit better which would help me understand how the phone is managing the radios and how apps like JD function to guard battery power. I like to know what the options I select are doing vs enabling various options and just hoping they do something productive.

[W2PMX]

The 3G indicator in the statusbar indicates 2 things - that 3G is enabled and that you're getting a 3G signal. No matter what you do, if you're not receiving a 3G signal the indicator will be off. Conversely, if you're receiving a 3G signal but 3G is disbled, you also won't get the 3G indicator in the statusbar.

[speedlever]

Thanks. The status bar 3g info is starting to make sense to me now that I'm beginning to understand what Android is doing with radio control.

So if the 3g switch is on but there is no 3g indicator in the status bar, either I'm not getting a 3g signal or 3g is disabled by either Android or an app. Am I understanding correctly now?

[maestroteague]

Thanks. The status bar 3g info is starting to make sense to me now that I'm beginning to understand what Android is doing with radio control.

So if the 3g switch is on but there is no 3g indicator in the status bar, either I'm not getting a 3g signal or 3g is disabled by either Android or an app. Am I understanding correctly now?

Yes, that is correct.

[speedlever]

Ok thanks. The status bar is the true indication of functional 3g service, regardless of switch position. Good to know.

What do the signal bars in the status bar represent, beside the 3g symbol (or wifi symbol, whichever is displayed)? The manual just calls it signal strength without being specific as to what signal it is. I assume it's cell tower signal strength.

[Steveanderson13]

Yes, you can look at settings/about phone/status to give signal strength. Some apps may display it.

[W2PMX]

What do the signal bars in the status bar represent, beside the 3g symbol (or wifi symbol, whichever is displayed)? The manual just calls it signal strength without being specific as to what signal it is. I assume it's cell tower signal strength.

Actually it's the signal quality, not the signal strength. Exactly what it represents depends on whether your phone is GSM or CDMA (and, to some extent , on the phone manufacturer). Sometimes you'll have no problem with one bar, sometimes you'll have breakup with 3 bars. Get to know your individual phone and you'll be able to use the indicator. (My CDMA phone, for instance, works just fine on 1 bar.)